GCSE GCSE Geography — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the difference between weather and climate?
- They are the same
- Weather is the day-to-day atmospheric conditions; climate is the average weather pattern over 30+ years (Correct answer)
- Climate changes daily; weather does not
- Weather is only measured at sea
Correct answer: Weather is the day-to-day atmospheric conditions; climate is the average weather pattern over 30+ years
Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions (temperature, rainfall, wind) on a given day. Climate is the long-term average of weather conditions over at least 30 years in a particular region.
Question 2: What is a 'tectonic plate'?
- A large rock on the surface
- A large segment of the Earth's crust and upper mantle (lithosphere) that moves on the mantle (Correct answer)
- A type of earthquake
- A volcanic rock formation
Correct answer: A large segment of the Earth's crust and upper mantle (lithosphere) that moves on the mantle
Tectonic plates are large pieces of the Earth's crust and upper mantle that fit together like a jigsaw. They move slowly (a few centimetres per year) due to convection currents in the mantle, causing earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Question 3: What is the difference between a constructive and a destructive plate boundary?
- Both create volcanoes in the same way
- At a constructive boundary, plates move apart (creating new crust); at a destructive boundary, one plate subducts under another (Correct answer)
- Constructive boundaries always cause earthquakes
- Destructive boundaries create new land
Correct answer: At a constructive boundary, plates move apart (creating new crust); at a destructive boundary, one plate subducts under another
At constructive (divergent) boundaries, plates pull apart and magma rises to fill the gap, creating new oceanic crust (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge). At destructive (convergent) boundaries, a denser plate subducts under a lighter one, forming volcanoes and trenches.
Question 4: What is the demographic transition model (DTM)?
- A model of global economic development
- A model showing how birth rates, death rates, and population change as a country develops through stages (Correct answer)
- A model predicting volcanic eruptions
- A model for urban growth
Correct answer: A model showing how birth rates, death rates, and population change as a country develops through stages
The DTM has 5 stages showing how population changes with development: Stage 1 (high BR/DR), Stage 2 (DR falls, population grows), Stage 3 (BR falls), Stage 4 (low BR/DR), Stage 5 (BR < DR, population may decline).
Question 5: What is 'urbanisation'?
- The decline of cities
- The process by which an increasing proportion of a population comes to live in urban areas (towns and cities) (Correct answer)
- People moving from cities to the countryside
- Building new roads in rural areas
Correct answer: The process by which an increasing proportion of a population comes to live in urban areas (towns and cities)
Urbanisation is the growth in the proportion of people living in urban areas. It is driven by rural-to-urban migration (pull factors of cities) and natural population increase in cities. It is happening fastest in LEDCs.
Question 6: What is a 'brownfield' site?
- A greenfield site in the countryside
- Previously developed land that is no longer in use and available for redevelopment (Correct answer)
- Agricultural farmland
- A protected nature reserve
Correct answer: Previously developed land that is no longer in use and available for redevelopment
A brownfield site is previously built-on land — such as derelict factories, old housing estates, or disused industrial sites — that can be redeveloped. Using brownfield sites is preferred to building on undeveloped greenfield land.
GCSE GCSE Geography
What is the difference between weather and climate?